A/N Thanks again everyone. It's been great seeing some new alerts pop up. Seems this story is getting some new readers. Thank you so much for that and for all those that have stuck by it and those that review you really have been amazing.

Special thanks as always to Esardi for his read throughs. They are a god send. Thanks to ersk4 for the shout out once again in his great story Chuck VS The Jill Ride. Thanks to all the other folks I've been PMing with lately. Its been great to get to know you all.

Still don't own Chuck but if I did I would send a 3 ep screener to everyone who writes a review of any story on this site.

Chapter 10

The Test

St Charles Hotel

Marseille

Friday 08:35 CET

Sarah Walker arrived back at her hotel room after another long day and night of surveillance on Pierre Marchon's compound. She and Carina had been monitoring activity going in and out of the compound for the better part of a week with nothing to show for it. It seemed that Marchon was continually one step ahead of them. He seemed to have put a complete lock down on all activity following the exchange with the Libyans and Marco Renaldi last week. What was concerning her is that he should have had absolutely no idea what happened that night. It had simply been a surveillance mission and no one was detained afterwards. Renaldi was simply followed and the Libyans were allowed to sail back to Tripoli with just the small addition of a tracking device attached to the hull. It would simply be used to allow their team to follow its movements and know when the next exchange was supposed to happen.

But something seemed off. For the weeks prior to that evening Marchon had gone on with all of his regular activity. But since that night it was like he went into hiding. The only explanation that she could think of that made any sense was that Marchon had a mole in their taskforce. Somehow, someway he was aware of their surveillance. Sarah's instincts had rarely steered her wrong over her career and they were screaming at her ever since she had returned from her plane ride to Zuoz and she got back in mission mode. Something was up and she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She and Carina had spent 16 hours in the van taking turns monitoring Marchon's complex while the other monitored any suspicious activity around them in case they had been spotted. When the replacement team from the DEA arrived it was Friday morning and Carina had asked Sarah if she wanted to come with her to a couple of clubs that she knew about that evening to unwind a bit. It had been a week since Carina had been out on the prowl for the next lucky shipping magnet she would possibly honor with her company for the night.

"Come on Sarah it will be fun. You could use a little R&R and maybe brush up on your 'technique.'"

"First of all my 'technique' is just fine thank you. I'm just really tired and need to get some rest as we have another 16 hour torture session in the van tonight at midnight and as it will be the weekend maybe we will finally see some movement."

"Well 'movement' is exactly what you need and we won't have to wait till then to get it." Carina gave her a bit of a wink.

"Not that kind of 'movement' for me. Thank you." 'At least not with anyone but a certain nerd.'

"Ok, I just hope Chuckles is worth saving yourself for."

"That he is." Sarah gave Carina a small but contented smile as she left and headed home.

Sarah quickly undressed and got in the shower. She needed to wash off the stench of 16 hours in a cramped surveillance van with no A/C running so as not to attract attention. As she was washing her hair she closed her eyes and wished that other hands were scrubbing her scalp. She longed for his touch. Hell she had been longing for it for 2 years. But these last 2 months had been hell. After everything they had been through she had finally surrendered to her feelings and the inevitable persistence of one Charles Bartowski. It had been 2 years of torture unlike anything she had ever known. Just when she had thought her agony was over she was thrust into a new and even worse hell. At least during their 2 year dance they at least had those cover dates. The chaste kisses, the hugs that went on just a second or two too long and the 'fake'(fake yea right) cuddling to make her feel real, loved and cared for. But now as she was finally going to have it all, or at least as close to it as their spy life would allow, it had all been snatched away again by that asshole Mitchell, the 2.0 and The Ring. These two months of agony were much worse than those two years ever were. As the warm water caressed her skin she felt the loneliness of not having the man she loved caressing it instead.

It was also hell because she couldn't do the one thing that made complete and total sense to her. She couldn't protect him when he was locked up in a Swiss bunker. All she could do was wait. So every morning and every night she checked her phone, her CIA email and the special email account that they had set up after Chuck was almost taken by Jill and turned over to Fulcrum.

Chuck had this idea to set them up but only use them for PM messaging through a forum on a fan site for a TV show pilot that never got picked up. A friend of his from high school was a singer and an actress and he had even recorded a duet, Leather and Lace, with her for his high school music class. Sarah had asked him to let her listen to it when he had told her about it after the mission with Tyler Martin. He had once dreamt about singing professionally but thought better of it once he got in to Stanford.

"Please Chuck? I mean how bad can it be? I'd love to hear it. I may not have had much time for music in my life but I know what I like and what I don't"

"Sarah. It's embarrassing and we were just in high school. She was great but I'm just a hack and I really don't want to make myself look any worse in your eyes than my normal ineptitude and nerdiness already makes me." Chuck said with that bashful playfulness in his eyes.

"Chuck, I swear I won't embarrass you. Remember you've seen my high school picture so you owe me one in the high school embarrassment department."

"Ok, fine. I guess you got me there. But just for the record I still say that picture wasn't that bad."

Sarah gave him the 'yea, right' face and a little smack on the arm.

Chuck reached into box of old CD's he had on the shelf in his closet and found the one he was looking for.

"Remember you promised you wouldn't laugh."

"I promise."

Chuck inserted it into his CD player and went and sat down next to Sarah on the bed. He looked at her with one more look of nervousness on his face and Sarah responded with a sweet comforting smile that warmed his heart. He pressed the play button on the remote and the soft guitar licks of the song began. The first verse was sung beautifully by his friend and Sarah looked at him silently asking when he would start.

"I sing the second verse" he said quietly to her.

When the second verse began Sarah's eyes lit up and her mouth opened in shock as to how great Chuck's voice was. She had never heard him sing before and he surprised her by just how good he was. The chorus came and when she heard him sing harmony with his very talented partner Chuck held his own quite well.

When the song ended Chuck looked at Sarah with a hopeful look. Sarah had to turn her head away as she didn't want Chuck to see the small tear that had welled up in her eye.

Chuck then said in his usual self-deprecating manner, "She's great but I told you I was just an amateur high school kid."

Sarah turned back toward Chuck blinking the tears from her eyes and said," No Chuck. That was amazing. You are really good. Both of you. I never knew you could sing so well. Why didn't you do it anymore after that?"

"Well I kind of got caught up in things at Stanford and didn't think I was any good. Besides I had enough trouble trying to look cool next to Bryce that I didn't need to make myself look any worse than I already did."

"Trust me Chuck, I heard Bryce sing and it isn't something I ever want to remember. You are so much better than him it isn't funny. And not just as a singer." Sarah said with a sincere look and just a hint of true affection.

"Well thank you for that even though I know it isn't true."

"Trust me Chuck, it is. Thank you for letting me listen to that. It was amazing."

Chuck's high school friend had been cast in a TV pilot and some of her friends had set up a fan and forum site in anticipation of the pilot getting picked up but it never did. The site basically became dormant after that but it was still online and should not attract attention from any of the nation's intelligence services. The private messaging component was still open and as these email addresses were only used through that site so it should be untraceable without some knowledge of its existence. They had decided to only use it twice at the most and only in extreme emergencies.

After Chuck had contacted her through his friend Butch at JPL, Sarah had purchased a new pre-paid burner phone that had email capability so she could get access to any email generated from that site. She didn't want to use her CIA issued laptop or use an Internet café for fear of being monitored. The burner phone was probably the safest method but as with the email she would only use it once or twice before disposing of it and getting new one. Between her knowledge of the methods and capabilities of the Intelligence services and Chuck's ability technically they both felt that could stay one step ahead if they ever needed to.

As Sarah put on her robe and headed over to her bed to check everything before she tried to get some sleep, she thought about how much easier her current mission would be if Chuck was with her and Carina. He could tag along and see if he could flash on whomever it was that was leaking info to Marchon and hopefully plant some info that would cause him to slip up and they could finally arrest him. Plus his ability to solve large problems using unconventional methods had been critical to their team's success. The longer she was away from him and the more she thought about their past missions the more she realized just how important he had been to their success. She had truly been right when she told him "You can do anything, I've seen you in action."

After checking her work email for any updates on her mission she powered on her burner phone she kept locked in the hotel room safe. She sat cross legged on the bed, brushed out her still damp hair and waited for the phone to boot up. Once it established service she waited for the usual couple of minutes for her phone to check her account. She was fully expecting it to not show anything as it had every time since she bought it, she got up and went to put the brush back on her dresser.

While her back was to the bed she heard a sound she had not expected to hear but it quickly became one of her favorite sounds ever. Sarah ran back over to the bed and dove for the burner phone. She looked at the display and gave out a huge smile.

'1 unread email'

Zuoz Training Facility

Agent Saunders Office

Friday 08:45 CET

Agent Andrea Saunders sat going over the reports from the two agents she had been mulling over all week. She still couldn't put her finger on what was bothering her about the incident from a week ago. She just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something different with Charles Carmichael. One thing that Andrea Saunders was, was thorough. She would not give up till she understood where this feeling was coming from. She had tried triggering a defensive flash all week in his Martial Arts and self-defense classes but nothing seemed to have worked. Either he wasn't flashing or he had become incredibly skilled at hiding the flashes and ignoring the skills he was given. If he was able to control his flashing to such a degree, that would be a big step forward in Intersect technology. From what she had been told and what she had seen on some of the surveillance footage of his missions there was a second or two when he was flashing that he was vulnerable. If an attacker could recognize this it would be to their advantage. But if Carmichael had learned to control and hide the flashing it would be reversed. He would have the distinct advantage of surprise. It was an upgrade to the Intersect that could have monumental impact on its usefulness in other Agents. That was one of the reasons The Ring was so interested in what was happening with his training. All of the data discovered here would be used once their own Intersect was ready. Plus it would give them an advantage in a battle against Carmichael if he managed to stay in the CIA's camp. So she had to devise a different plan to determine once and for all if he was indeed flashing again and if so why had he been keeping it a secret.

She closed the folder and looked up from the files she had been reading for at least the tenth time when she heard the knock on the door. She had summoned Mr. Carmichael for his weekly briefing prior to his outdoor training session.

"Come in, Mr. Carmichael. I've been expecting you. Please sit down."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Charles there is going to be a slight change in your weekly training schedule this week."

Chuck got a bit of a quizzical look on his face.

"You will not be going outside this afternoon as usual. In fact I've decided on a different approach to your outdoor activities. After your session with Agent Landers you will be going to the classroom to train on new communications equipment that you will use in a different sort of test that you will be performing on Monday. After that you will come back here and will then be given a file that will have all of the parameters you will need to develop a mission profile over the weekend for you and your team to follow."

"Yes ma'am" Chuck was confused a bit by the sudden change in his weekly routine.

"This test is to evaluate your leadership skill, mission planning protocols and your ability to adapt to sudden unforeseen changes you will encounter as a field agent. So far you scores in classroom mission planning had been excellent. Now it will be your chance to use those skills in the field."

Saunders then got up from her chair and walked around to the front of her desk and stand directly in front of Chuck. She then proceeded to lean back against the top of her desk and in so doing her already slightly too short pencil skirt sneaked up devilishly higher. She then leaned forward at the waist watching his reaction as her blouse opened up showing off what any red blooded male would instinctively at least glance at.

Chuck tried to catch himself but it was too late. 'Shit! She did that on purpose'

Agent Saunders getting the reaction she had hoped for then said in a soft sultry voice. "Charles, you have shown some great promise but there is still 'sooo' much I have to show you. Leadership from men who take command is a necessary part of the spy game. It is also devastatingly enticing to women. We like men who take charge of a situation and get what they want. Do you know what you want Charles?"

Chuck tried desperately not to gulp and then a thought or actually a person came into his mind. His faced slowly turned back into the confident Charles Carmichael from the resteraunt. "Absolutely, Andrea." His deep brown eyes then locked on hers.

The fact he called her Andrea again was not lost on Agent Saunders.

She leaned in a little closer and in a soft sensuous voice said. "Well I certainly hope so because I know exactly what I want and if you figure out a mission profile that completes your task properly then I can promise that there will be no trainer/trainee or asset/handler protocols stopping either of us from getting exactly what we desire."

She said the last few words in such a way that her warm breath caressed his cheek as she spoke.

Chuck gave a sigh of enticement and Agent Saunders leaned back to listen for his response. "Well then I will have to make sure I develop a successful mission profile then won't I."

"Don't let me down Charles. I expect a much different ending to the next film script we perform together."

Chuck nodded and then gave her that confident smile once again that had been so devastating to her last week. After a few seconds he slipped back into trainee Carmichael mode. The part of their game was over for today. "May I head to the gym Agent Saunders I want to make sure I get in a good workout today if I'm going to be spending the afternoon in a classroom and the weekend developing the mission profiles."

Agent Saunders stood up and headed back to her chair slipping into her trainer persona. "Yes Mr. Carmichael. Be back here at 17:00 and I will have your mission files and brief you on your assignment."

"Thank you ma'am. I'm looking forward to it."

After Chuck left Agent Saunders took a deep breath and sighed. "I mean it Charles I do NOT want you to disappoint me this time."

St Charles Hotel

Marseille

Friday 08:55 CET

Before Sarah opened the email she took a deep breath. It had to be from Chuck. Somehow he had managed once again to find a way to communicate with her. Still in just her robe she went to the safe to grab the Romulan dictionary just in case. She then walked over to the small table near the window in her room that looked out over the train station she had used to travel to Nice last Friday. She took out a sheet of paper from the small drawer in the table and then touched the screen to open up the email. As she read she copied the email to the paper and once she was done she began the process of translating the email.

Once Sarah had finished writing the translation she read what Chuck had sent her. The first part made her smile it was so Chuck. But the second part of the email had her very concerned. Finally in the third part were some questions and a request for a reply once she had the answers he asked for.

Her heart was still pounding after she reread it a third time. Even the warmth and humor of the first part could not belay the chills that the second part of the email sent down her spine like a cold North Atlantic wind. Chuck was in danger. Possibly great danger.

Sarah, besides being the most beautiful, you have to be the coolest woman on the planet. How did you come up with that idea of using the plane? God I wish I could have been up there with you. It must have been beautiful although it could never compare to the beauty I see every time I look at you. I'll have to thank Butch when I get back to Burbank. I owe him big time.

I am flashing again because of you. I know now that you are the key to the Intersect. But I haven't told anyone yet. Sarah I don't know how to say this so you won't worry but my chief trainer, Andrea Saunders is working for the Ring. Lots more to tell you later on.

I need you to contact Casey and see what he knows or what he can find out about an NSA Agent Jack Landers. I also need to ask you both if you truly trust Beckman. I know she doesn't trust Mitchell but can we trust her? I'll leave it up to you two to decide whether or not to contact her. I trust you both with my life.

Let me know what you two come up with and send it back using this method. I should get it on Monday.

I miss you Sarah and I love you. Remember we're better as a team.

Chuck

"Oh Chuck." Sarah wiped a tear from her cheek and read the note one more time to make sure she remembered it completely. Then she deleted the email and took the piece of paper, tore it into pieces and then went into the bathroom where she flushed it down the toilet. After making sure that no pieces got stuck in the bowl area she washed her hands and went back to the night table next to the hotel bed and picked up her phone.

She pressed #2 on the speed dial.

On the second ring she heard, "Casey secure"

"Walker secure"

"I take it this is about the kid."

"Yes Casey. We think he is in danger and I need you to answer a few questions for him."

"So he figured out a way to contact you?"

"Did you actually doubt him?"

"No. One thing I learned from the past two years is he's resourceful and relentless especially when it concerns you Walker."

"Thanks John." They did care about each other but it was just understood and never really spoken of out loud.

"Casey, have you ever heard of an NSA Agent named Jack Landers?"

"Yea, he's some kind of a hot shot councilor. He has done a lot of good with soldiers transitioning from the battlefield into NSA Agents. Plus he has a stellar record from the military in a number of theaters himself. From what I have heard he's a stand up guy and has helped a lot of people."

"Ok, Chuck also asked if we still trust Beckman."

"Walker, where is this all coming from and what aren't you telling me?"

"Chuck's chief trainer an Andrea Saunders is working for the Ring."

"So he's flashing again?"

"Yes but how did you know he wasn't"

"Beckman called me a few weeks ago and told me."

"What?" Sarah's voice raised just a bit too much. Calming herself so no one would hear in the hallway of her hotel she asked in a much lower tone but no less pissed off, "You knew he wasn't flashing and you didn't tell me?"

"Beckman told me not to. Her contact there told her that he wasn't flashing but still getting better at his training. Plus she didn't want you blowing things by heading off to Switzerland on your own."

"I bet he's been getting the crap beat out of him." Sarah was now pacing the room. She was pissed at Casey for not telling her but she understood why. She couldn't have done anything with the knowledge anyway.

"Look, he's a smart kid and now that he's flashing again he's probably doing fine in the sessions. You saw what he did to those Ring agents."

"That's just the thing Casey. He hasn't told anyone he is flashing again because he doesn't know who to trust. You know he's a planner and he needs to know who all the players are before he let's them know. Right now they are biding their time just watching him but I bet they are planning to grab him after they find out what he is capable of so they can learn more about the Intersect."

"So what does he want us to do?"

"He's left it up to us to decide if we notify Beckman or not."

"I think we have to tell her. We can't go breaking into an underground CIA facility with just us two. We are going to need help especially if there are other Ring Agents there that he hasn't seen yet."

"Agreed. Besides if we tell her that its Mitchell's handpicked trainer that could be responsible for capturing the Intersect she'll see it as a way to get back in full charge of the team."

Sarah knew this was the right decision."Ok I'll contact Chuck. It will be easier for you to contact Beckman."

"Fine. I've got to fly a support mission over to Kabul leaving in about an hour. That should put me back her by 01:00 our time. I'll contact her then."

"Thanks Casey"

"Hey Sarah?"

"Yes, John?"

"He's smart. He'll be fine"

"I hope you're right, John."

"I'll call you tomorrow after I talk to Beckman." Casey knew that Sarah was worried about Chuck but he was smart and even though he was alone he had learned that the kid had a way of figuring things out. He may not be the classic Agent type but Casey knew Chuck was a lot better at his job than he would ever let on publicly.

Zuoz Training Facility

Agent Landers office

13:00 CET

Chuck arrived for his weekly session with Agent Landers. He was a little apprehensive about how he was going to be able to disguise his flash from the Agent. He expected to at least flash on his file but it was the data that he would get from the flash that concerned him. Was Landers legit or was he working for The Ring? But he was also concerned with even if Landers was a loyal NSA agent he was still an NSA agent. He really needed to confirm with Sarah and Casey if they felt Beckman and therefore Landers were to be trusted. Beckman had ordered him to be bunkered twice and had even had a kill order out on him he suspected before the Fulcrum cipher had killed Director Graham and his new Interesect "volunteers". Besides she had kept the secret of Orion being his dad and had refused to help him find him when he wanted to get the old Intersect out of his head. He needed to tread lightly here.

He noticed that the door to Agent Landers office was open as he approached. 'Maybe I can just take a glimpse before he spots me' Chuck decided against that as the risk of him being spotted and then pulling back behind the door in front of the security cameras was too risky. He had a better idea.

Chuck knocked on the door frame as he peaked around the door. As the flash came on he closed his eyes and let out a loud sneeze.

A waterfall

Map of the Bagdad Green Zone

A Picture of Landers with a distraught soldier

His service record

A picture of Landers shaking General Beckman's hand with two other new NSA Agents

A waterfall

"Are you all right Charles?"

Chuck shook his head for a sec. "Must be the dust from being indoors so long. Allergies kicking up"

"I'll have our clean up team do a complete vacuuming of your room and see Ursula for some allergy medication if it continues. We don't want you to miss any training time being sick."

"Thank you sir"

"No problem Charles. Please sit down."

Well Landers wasn't suspected of working for the Ring but he certainly seemed loyal to Beckman.

"So Charles, how have things been going this week? I saw from the reports from Agent Saunders that your 'hunter' and 'prey' challenge went exceptionally well."

"Yes, sir"

"I also read the reports of the two agents you subdued during that challenge and it seems you handled them quite easily."

"No sir. I simply used the element of surprise to my advantage. It was something that Agent Saunders has been stressing since I got here. Use whatever advantage you have."

"Charles I am curious about one thing that was mentioned in their interviews with Agent Saunders."

"What was that sir?" Chuck asked curiously.

"Well both Agents seemed to feel like you had not simply left them to make your escape but moved them away from any possible injury when they woke up from the tranquilizers you had shot them with. Did you do that and if so why?"

"Ahhh well… Yes I did sir. They are Agents working for the same side as I am and I didn't want anything to happen to them because I had a training mission to complete."

"Interesting. You realize that at that time they were not on the same team as you and in real field conditions stopping to check on an enemy's condition can get you killed."

"Sometimes not checking on your enemies' condition can get you killed. Sir, I understand that completely but in fact they are sort of my teammates in reality as they are here to help me to become an Agent and I was taught by a great soldier that you never leave a man behind.

"Ahh, Colonel Casey. Good man. But just remember that in these training scenarios you have to treat the other Agents as the enemy and act accordingly. Your evaluation and performance depends on it."

"Yes, sir understood."

"Charles, you seem to have learned a lot from your former teammates."

"Yes, sir. They are both the best and I was very lucky to have them as my handlers."

"Charles, coming from a soldiers background I understand the importance of teamwork and loyalty. But you just have to remember that the life of a field agent many times is a very singular and lonely life. You will probably get assigned a partner for some missions but there will be others where the only person you can trust is yourself."

"What are you getting at Agent Landers?"

"Nothing really other than just reminding you that trust is a very rare commodity in this game and you better make sure you know who the people are that are worthy of that trust.

"You will be asked to do some pretty terrible things and have to burn assets and others that have given you their trust. It's not a nice business and the emotional toll on you can be devastating."

"I understand that sir. I've seen some things that I would never have imagined 2 years ago but they were necessary to protect the greater good."

"That's what they tell you to help you deal with it but believe me it doesn't always work. The goal here is to change you into an Agent and many times that comes at the cost of your soul. Its one of the crosses we have to bear both as a spy and as a member of the military. If you let it, it will change you into someone you don't even recognize and you need to keep focused on what makes you uniquely qualified to do this job."

"Thank you sir."

"Well Charles it seems something has changed a bit in you. This was the first time you have been this open since we began these sessions. I hope this continues and next week we can start to focus on finding out what is preventing you from flashing."

"Yes sir"

"Well see you next week Charles and think about what I said. Try to hold on to what makes you Charles. It will help you deal with the stress and depression of this job more easily. No matter what all the CIA NSA shrinks say you can't just turn off your emotions. If you do you won't much like the person you've become."

Zuoz Training Facility

Agent Saunders office

17:00 CET

Chuck had arrived back at Andrea Saunders office for his briefing on his mission on Monday. He was to receive the intel needed to plan an operation scheduled for Monday evening. He was to study the packet he would receive from Agent Saunders over the weekend and develop a team op to accomplish his mission. He would be judged on the overall plan, backup, communications, escape routes, etc. All aspects of a successful mission.

As he sat down across from Agent Saunders he noticed that she was reaching into a locked compartment in her credenza. She pulled out a thick blue padded envelope with a CIA seal on it and marked 'Eyes Only'. Agent Saunders turned back towards Chuck and placed the envelope in front of him.

"Mr. Carmichael, inside this envelope is the intel you will need to plan your mission. What you see before you is a typical delivery system used by the CIA when they contact Agents in the field. Inside you will find any necessary documents, building plans, target information etc. The packet is as complete as it can be. There are also several security measures in place that restrict access to the data contained here. These can be either retinal scan, thumb print, voice recognition or anything else our technicians can develop to guarantee that only the intended Agent can get access to the intel."

Agent Saunders looked back up from the packet and carefully gauged Chuck's reaction. "What I can tell you verbally now is that this will be now a 6 person op, including you, 1 surveillance operative, 2 Agents on security and backup and me."

Chuck got a bit of a stunned look on his face. "So I'm going to be your boss on this mission?" A small hint of a grin appeared on his face.

"Don't get cocky Mr. Carmichael, I am still in complete charge of your life while you are here. But this operation requires that I accompany you as your date/wife."

"Aww, and here I was looking forward to telling you what to do like stay in the van or get me a bear." Chuck let out a stifled chuckle.

"We will have an operative for that but who knows you still may get the chance to tell me what you want me to do after the mission is successfully completed." Andrea gave Chuck the same devilish grin she had given him earlier.

Agent Saunders leaned back in her chair and continued noticing a very slight flinch in Carmichael. 'He's not back in super confident spy mode yet but by the end of the evening I'll see if he can give an even better sequel to last weeks film script.'

Agent Saunders pushed the padded envelope across the table. "Mr. Carmichael you will take this packet back to your room where you will open it, clear the security protocols and develop your plans. We will meet Sunday evening for a briefing to go over those plans. These mission packets are to be opened only in a secure location and away from any strangers or even your teammates unless otherwise instructed. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good you're dismissed."

As Chuck got up the head towards the door packet in hand Agent Saunders called out to him once more."Mr. Carmichael, I hope Charles will be joining us on Monday. You're going to need him, I can promise you that." Andrea chuckled just a bit as Chuck left her office.

Agent Saunders got up and locked her office door. She did not want to be interrupted during what was to come next. She sat down in front of her credenza and opened up a different locked cabinet. Reaching inside she pulled out a laptop and booted it up. She then took out a small USB receiver that was in the secret compartment where she kept her Ring phone. She plugged it into the laptop and opened up a small application that generated a video window that was currently showing black.

She then reached into another desk drawer and pulled out a glass and a bottle of Sky vodka. She poured herself a drink and sat back in her chair with a bit of a grin on her face.

"Ok Charles now we just have to wait and find out if you have been hiding anything from us."

Zuoz Training Facility

Chuck's room

17:14 CET

Chuck got back to his room with his packet and set it down on the small table near his bathroom. He opened the small cabinet and pulled out a bottle of water. He sat down on his chair and let out an uncomfortable sigh.

Chuck knew that there may be information in here that would most likely cause him to flash. He fully expected to have all of the "mirror guys" as well as Agent Saunders watching him on the camera in his room. If for no other reason than to evaluate him as he is going through the mission planning process.

Chuck got up from the chair and went over towards the bathroom for a second. He needed to see where the best place was to sit and keep his face from view. As the camera was mounted in the corner of the room near the ceiling he felt it was best to sit directly underneath it. Even if they had a fisheye lens on the camera all they would see would be the top of his head. He walked over to the table again and got the packet. He then went to the corner of the room under the camera and sat down on the floor with legs crossed.

He broke the seal of the blue padding and found a circular red box. He picked it up and looked it over for any opening or anything he could find. He noticed on the top what looked like a fingerprint scanner you can see on a laptop computer. He set the box on the floor and proceeded to swipe his thumb over the scanning pad. It immediately had a green light appear just to the left of the thumb scanner. Then all of a sudden the top of the box tilted up revealing the contents inside. He was amazed as he hadn't even seen a seam on the outside of the box. On top of everything was what looked like blueprints and security system drawings for the Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St. Moritz. He set those aside and then pulled out a map of St. Moritz and the town of Pontresina. He also found what looked like a master key card for a hotel that Housekeeping might use. But what then caught his attention was what looked like a small portable mini-DVD player. But instead of a DVD transport he saw an SD card slot. There was already a 4 gig SD memory card in the slot that was covered by what seemed like a clear epoxy preventing the removal of the card. He suspected that any tampering of the slot would destroy the SD card.

Chuck pressed the only button on the device he could see and the screen lit up saying 'Look at the screen and identify yourself'

Chuck looked at the screen and said "Charles Carmichael"

At that a green light scanned his face and centered on his eyes.

'Identity confirmed'

Chuck actually thought this was really cool. He thought back to his dad and said out loud, "Good Morning Mr. Phelps." Stephen Bartowski always really liked that show and would sit and watch re-runs with his son. Funny how prophetic those times were back then. Chuck chuckled to himself and the screen lit up with a shot of Agent Saunders sitting at her desk.

"Good evening Agent Carmichael." Chuck thought that was curious but I guess he was sort of one and they wanted to show him exactly how these things are done.

"Your mission is to attend a black tie reception to benefit the St Moritz Art Masters Association being held at the Badrutt's Palace Hotel. The gala is being thrown by this couple Mr and Mrs Franz Tesla. They are large benefactors and members of the board of the St. Moritz Art Masters Association.

"Also attending the gala we suspect will be this woman, Sydney Prince…" Chuck felt the flash coming on. He tilted his head down even further away from the surveillance camera.

"Sydney Prince is a known Ring operative now working out of Paris. We believe she is there to meet this man, Agent Simon Grant. Grant is an MI6 Agent that we believe is working as a double Agent for the Ring. Grant is carrying a data drive that contains the identities of all of the MI6 and CIA Agents working undercover inside the Ring. Your mission is to make contact with Grant and Prince, video the exchange and then capture and detain both Agents."

Chuck had also flashed on Grant who had a good career with MI6 until an incident in 2008 involving a failed mission in Calcutta. The details were sketchy but he hadn't been the same Agent since.

"Agent Carmichael, the only thing that is not under your direct control on this mission is the fact that I will be attending the gala with you as your fiancé and be there to monitor the situation and provide any backup needed. As you are still in training we will not put you out in the field solo. See me Sunday evening to go over the mission plans with the team."

As soon as the screen went dark what Chuck had thought was epoxy ignited and the SD card was burnt to a crisp. "Aww she didn't say this will self destruct in 5 seconds. No way could I do that and not say that line."

Chuck gathered the documents and got up and spread them on his bed. He retrieved a notebook out of his drawer and began to study the layout of the hotel and surrounding area to plan how best to handle the operation.

Agent Andrea Saunders had a big smile on her face. On her regular computer screen was the normal surveillance camera form Carmichael's room. All anyone saw on that camera was the top of his head and him holding the mission device. But on the laptop screen she had taken from her credenza she could clearly see Carmichael's face the entire time. The retinal scanner had been modified to be used as a camera and transmitted over a short distance.

She reached over and poured herself another drink. Saluting the laptop screen with her glass she spoke with a definite gleam in her eye.

"Gotcha!"

A/N2 I know I said last time that the action starts this chapter but I needed to get some stuff in place. Next chapter and the following one are two that I have been waiting to write since I began this story.